I’M of two minds when it comes to this new TV version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

On the one hand, I’m tempted to be generous, kind, considerate and thoughtful.

But on the other hand, I might be seized at any moment with the desire to tear this movie apart – to ravage it, rip it to shreds, destroy it!

The question is, will I be able to control the evil critic who lives inside me – indeed, who lives inside of all of us?

Well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but the science of exploring the dark side of human nature is what animates this hugely popular story, which was first published as a book in 1886 (by Robert Louis Stevenson) and subsequently made into 22 movies beginning in 1908, according to the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) website.

Now, the 23rd version (yes, I’m counting 1953’s “Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in that tally) comes to U.S. television via Bravo.

The story, of course, concerns a physician, Henry Jekyll, in Victorian London who invents an elixir that he hopes will tame the evil that lurks in the hearts of men (apologies to “The Shadow” for stealing that). Unfortunately for the doctor, the medicine backfires and unleashes the evil Mr. Hyde, who wreaks violent havoc in the guise of Dr. Jekyll.

The Scottish-born actor John Hannah – who coincidentally just joined the action on HBO’s “Carnivale” – is the star of Bravo’s “Jekyll” and one of its producers too.

In the movie, he gets to play Mr. Good and Mr. Evil, sometimes in the same scene through the use of special effects which don’t always have the two characters seeing eye to eye.

Having never read the book, I’m in no position to judge how faithful the movie is to the original. But it shares a number of atmospheric traits with other gothic horror stories committed to film, including scenes of Cockney-accented street urchins and horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping through narrow, cobblestone streets.

The nighttime scenes in gaslit alleys are moody enough, but this “Dr. Jekyll” turns out to have a split personality – it’s a horror movie, but it isn’t scary.